2020 uk cansat competition guidelines · the uk cansat competition will consist of five phases: 1....
TRANSCRIPT
2020 UK CANSAT COMPETITION
Guidelines
2
Table of contents
1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
2 COMPETITION OVERVIEW................................................................................................................................. 4
2.1 CALL FOR PROPOSALS AND TEAM SELECTION ....................................................................................................... 4 2.2 TEACHERS’ INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP............................................................................................................... 5 2.3 CANSAT CONSTRUCTION AND TEST ACTIVITIES .................................................................................................... 5 2.4 REGIONAL LAUNCH CAMPAIGN ............................................................................................................................. 6 2.5 NATIONAL LAUNCH CAMPAIGN ............................................................................................................................ 6 2.6 TIMELINE .............................................................................................................................................................. 7
3 CANSAT EQUIPMENT ........................................................................................................................................... 8
3.1 THE LAUNCH......................................................................................................................................................... 8 3.2 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CANSAT MISSIONS .................................................................................................... 8
3.2.1 Primary mission ........................................................................................................................................... 8 3.2.2 Secondary Mission ....................................................................................................................................... 8
3.3 CANSAT REQUIREMENTS ...................................................................................................................................... 9
4 EVALUATION AND SCORING ........................................................................................................................... 11
4.1 EDUCATIONAL VALUE ........................................................................................................................................ 11 4.2 TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT ................................................................................................................................. 11 4.3 TEAMWORK ........................................................................................................................................................ 11 4.4 OUTREACH ......................................................................................................................................................... 11 4.5 MARKING SCHEME .............................................................................................................................................. 11
5 FINANCE ................................................................................................................................................................. 12
6 CONTACT AND FURTHER REFERENCE ........................................................................................................ 12
3
1 INTRODUCTION
ESA wishes to foster and support a broad range of CanSat activities across its Member States,
in order to give European high school students their first experience of a real space-related
project.
The UK branch of the European Space Education Resources Office (ESERO-UK) organises the
UK CanSat Competition. The winner of the UK competition may go on to compete in the
European CanSat Competition.
A CanSat is a simulation of a real satellite, integrated within the volume and shape of a soft
drink can. The challenge for the students is to fit all the major subsystems found in a satellite,
such as power, sensors and a communication system, into this minimal volume. The CanSat is
then launched to an altitude of a few hundred metres by a rocket or dropped from a drone or
captive balloon and its mission begins: to carry out a scientific experiment and achieve a safe
landing.
CanSats offer a unique opportunity for students to have a first practical experience of a real
space project. They are responsible for all aspects: selecting the mission objectives, designing
the CanSat, integrating the components, testing, preparing for launch and then analysing the
data.
Fig. 1: UK CanSat Competition 2015
4
2 COMPETITION OVERVIEW
The UK CanSat Competition will consist of five phases:
1. Call for proposals and team selection
2. Teachers’ introductory workshop
3. CanSat construction and test activities
4. Regional launch campaign
5. National launch campaign
2.1 Call for proposals and team selection
An announcement of opportunity is published on the ESERO-UK website
www.stem.org.uk/esero, with information about the competition and guidelines for
applications.
Applications are reviewed and if teams meet the eligibility criteria then they offered the chance
to take part.
Eligibility
The team should comprise between 4 and 10 students, assisted by a teacher or tutor.
At least 4 of these students must be over 14 years of age at the time of the launch
campaign.
The team members must be enrolled as full-time students
At least 50% of the students included in a team must be nationals of an ESA Member
State
A completed expression of interest must be submitted to ESERO-UK by 15th September
2019. In some circumstances, teams may be accepted up until the end of September
2019. Applications can be made via the link on www.stem.org.uk/esero/cansat
Responsibility for leading the team
Each team should have a teacher or a tutor responsible for monitoring the team’s technical
progress, available to offer help and advice, and acting as the point-of-contact between the
organisers and the student team. The teacher/tutor must be available to attend some training
like “The teachers’ introductory workshop” and to accompany the team to the competition
launch campaign.
It is recommended that the team have a mentor within a university or industry to assist in
their project, should they be selected. ESERO-UK can help teams to find a mentor through the
STEM Ambassadors.
5
2.2 Teachers’ introductory workshop
Before the students start work on their projects, a workshop will be held for the teachers of
each team to introduce the CanSat concept, demonstrate how the hardware and software
works and give teachers the opportunity to build their own CanSat. This workshop will take one
or two days and will be held in October. Available dates can be found via
www.stem.org.uk/esero/cpd
2.3 CanSat construction and test activities
Students are encouraged to follow a normal space project lifecycle as follows:
Selection of mission objectives
Definition of requirements
Design of hardware and software
One or more reviews of the design (leading to design refinement)
Integration and testing
Launch and operations
Data analysis and reporting of results
Guidelines for the activities, as well as templates for the required reports, will be provided to
each team that is selected to participate in the competition. Expert advice should be made
available throughout this phase.
6
2.4 Regional launch campaign
Regional events may be organised and we will make this known to competition participants.
You can take part in a regional event without applying for the final, and you can also apply for
the final without taking part in a regional event.
The highlight of the competition will be the competition launch campaigns, where each CanSat
will be launched.
The site for the launch event will depend upon the chosen launch platform. The most common
options are:
A drone, dropping from 120m
A captive (tethered) balloon, dropping from ~150m
Rocket launches are subject to strict legal and safety requirements, which should be
investigated well in advance.
Regional launch events will comprise of one day at a number of venues across the UK. Teams
should have their CanSats flight ready upon arrival at the launch site. There will be time for
final launch readiness checks but any integration or test of the CanSat must have been carried
out beforehand. Members of a judging team will be present on the day but the final decision
will be made after the event.
2.5 National launch campaign
The national launch campaign takes place at the National STEM Learning Centre, York. Teams
will be selected based on progress report 2, submitted in January 2020.
A typical programme for a launch event is as follows:
Day 1
Final integration and technical
Inspection of the CanSats
Day 2
Launch and recovery operations
Analysis of the mission data and
conclusion of results
Day 3
Student teams present data analysis
and results to the jury
Competition prize ceremony
A report on the results from the launch is required from each team. The competition winners
will then be chosen based on the team’s performance throughout the project, as well as the
final flight operations and results.
Fig. 2: Students track their CanSat during its descent
7
2.6 Timeline
Fig. 3: A selection of CanSats from the 2012 European CanSat Competition
Phase 1: Call for proposals and team selection
Activity Deadline
Call for proposals opens April 2019
Deadline for proposals 15th Sept 2019
Announcement of selected teams End Sept 2019
Phase 2: Teachers’ introductory workshop
Activity Deadline
Teachers’ introductory workshops October 2019
Phase 3: CanSat construction and test activities
Activity Deadline
Progress report 1 12 November 2019
Progress report 2 12 January 2020
Progress report 3 (as-built documentation) 21 March 2020
Phase 4: Regional launch campaign and post-flight activities
Activity Deadline
Regional launch campaigns March 2020
Phase 5: National launch campaign and post-flight activities
Activity Deadline
National launch campaign 22-24 April 2020
8
3 CANSAT EQUIPMENT
Designing and building a CanSat from scratch is a daunting prospect for students with no prior
experience of such an activity. For this reason, we provide details of two possible kits to meet
the primary mission: one Arduino based and one Raspberry Pi based. This hardware, or
similar, must be purchased by the teams to meet the requirements of the primary mission.
Additional hardware will need to be purchased to meet the requirements of the secondary
mission (see below).
3.1 The launch
The launch will be from a drone or from a tethered balloon. Requirements for launch are listed
in section 3.3.
3.2 Primary and secondary CanSat missions
3.2.1 Primary mission
The team must build a CanSat and program it to accomplish the compulsory primary mission,
as follows:
After release and during descent, the CanSat shall measure the following parameters
and transmit the data as telemetry once every second to the ground station:
• Air temperature
• Air pressure
It must be possible for the team to analyse the data obtained (for example, make a calculation
of altitude) and display it in graphs (for example, altitude vs. time and temperature vs.
altitude).
3.2.2 Secondary Mission
The secondary mission for the CanSat must be selected by the team. It can be based on other
satellite missions, a perceived need for scientific data for a specific project, a technology
demonstration for a student-designed component, or any other mission that would fit the
CanSat’s capabilities.
Some examples of missions are listed below, but teams are free to design a mission of their
choice, as long as it can be demonstrated to have some scientific, technological or innovative
value. Teams should also keep in mind the limitations of the CanSat mission profile, and focus
on the feasibility (both technical and administrative) of their chosen mission.
Some example secondary missions:
1. Advanced telemetry
After release and during descent, the CanSat measures and transmits additional telemetry to
that required for the primary mission, for example:
• Acceleration
9
• GPS location
• Radiation levels
2. Telecommand
During descent, commands are sent from the ground to the CanSat to perform an action, such
as switching a sensor on and off, changing the frequency of measurements, etc.
3. Targeted landing
The CanSat navigates autonomously with a control mechanism such as a parafoil. The
objective is for the CanSat to land as close as possible to a fixed target point on the ground
after it has been released from the rocket. This mission is an advanced telemetry/telecommand
mission - navigation data is exchanged between the CanSat and a ground station throughout
the descent.
4. Landing system
For this mission, an alternative safe landing system for the CanSat would be deployed, such as
a bespoke parachute or airbag.
5. Planetary probe
The CanSat simulates an exploration flight to a new planet, taking measurements on the
ground after landing. Teams should define their exploration mission and identify the
parameters necessary to accomplish
3.3 CanSat Requirements
The CanSat hardware and missions must be designed to the following requirements and
constraints:
[1] All the components of the CanSat must fit inside a standard soda can (115 mm height and
66 mm diameter), with the exception of the parachute. An exemption can be made for radio
antennas and GPS antennas, which can be mounted externally (on the top or bottom of the
can, not on the sides), based on the design.
[2] The antennas, transducers and other elements of the CanSat cannot extend beyond the
can’s diameter until it has left the launch vehicle.
[3] The mass of the CanSat must be between 300 g and 350 g. CanSats that are lighter must
take additional ballast with them to reach the 300 g mass limit required.
[4] Explosives, detonators, pyrotechnics, and flammable or dangerous materials are strictly
forbidden. All materials used must be safe for the personnel, the equipment and the
environment. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) will be requested in case of doubt.
[5] The CanSat must be powered by a battery and/or solar panels. It must be possible for the
systems to be switched on for three continuous hours.
[6] The battery must be easily accessible, in case it has to be replaced or recharged in the
field.
[7] The CanSat must have an easily accessible master power switch.
[8] The CanSat should have a recovery system, such as a parachute, which is able to be
reused after launch. It is recommended to use bright coloured fabric, which will facilitate
recovery of the CanSat after landing.
10
[9] The parachute connection must be able to withstand up to 500N of force. The strength of
the parachute must be tested, to give confidence that the system will operate nominally.
[10] The decent time of the CanSat when falling from 120 metres is limited to 12 seconds or
20 seconds for a guided landing. This is a requirement from the launch site since this will
guarantee that the CanSat lands within the landing area under all wind conditions.
[11] The descent rate must be at least 10m/s or 6m/s for a guided landing.
[12] The CanSat must be able to withstand an acceleration of up to 2g for balloon launch or
20g for rocket launch.
[13] The recovery of the CanSat is not guaranteed after the launch.
[14] The total budget of the CanSat should not exceed £400. This does not include ground
support equipment, such as laptops, power supplies, antennas.
[15] The CanSat must have the function to alter the frequency, as required for the European
competition.
11
4 EVALUATION AND SCORING
The teams will be evaluated on an ongoing basis, with the following items being taken into
account:
4.1 Educational value
For this item, the jury will consider the quality of the progress reports and the team
presentations, the level of effort made by the team and how much the team appear to have
learned throughout the project.
4.2 Technical achievement
Innovative aspects of the project will be judged, for example: the mission selected and the
hardware/software used. It will be also taken into account how the teams obtained the results,
how reliable and robust the CanSat was and how the CanSat performed. If the CanSat did not
succeed in accomplishing the missions but the team is able to explain the reasons why and
suggest improvements, it will be also taken into account positively.
4.3 Teamwork
The jury will assess how well the team worked together on the assignment, the distribution of
tasks, the planning and execution of the project and the team’s success in obtaining the
necessary funding, support and advice.
4.4 Outreach
The team will be scored on how well the project was communicated to the school and the local
community, taking into account any webpages, blogs, presentations, promotional materials,
media coverage, etc.
4.5 Marking scheme
1 Educational value 20%
2 Technical achievement 50%
3 Teamwork 15%
4 Outreach 15%
TOTAL 100%
12
5 FINANCE
This section outlines the expectations as to ownership of costs for the competition. This is for
guidance only and does not constitute an agreement between ESERO-UK and any third party.
ESERO-UK will pay for
- Catering for the duration of the teachers’ workshop
- Accommodation and catering for the National launch campaign for one teacher and up
to six students
- Accommodation and catering for the final presentations and awards for one teacher and
up to six students
The school or sponsors will pay for
- Transport to and from each event outlined above
- Any additional electronic equipment required for the secondary mission or ground
support
- Costs associated with more than one teacher and six students from each team
attending an event
- Any costs of cover for teaching
- Any other costs incurred by the team not specified above
6 CONTACT AND FURTHER REFERENCE
All questions should be directed to:
Tom Lyons
ESERO-UK
The National STEM Learning Centre
University of York
York
YO10 5DD
Tel: +44 1904 328178
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stem.org.uk/esero/cansat
Further Reference
CanSats in Europe Portal http://www.esa.int/Education/CanSat